Roast Beef With Root Vegetables ver. 2

I wanted to take another stab at roast beef and came up with the recipe below. This time around I took extra care to ensure that the vegetables were especially flavorful. I achieved this by cooking them separately, then tinkering with the seasoning. Normally, the vegetables are prepared in the same pot as the chuck roast, but my Le Creuset isn't very large. A a result, I never have enough veggies. Preparing the beef and vegetables in separate pots really seems to be a good way to get around this problem.

Roast Beef With Root Vegetables ver. 2

Ingredients
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2-3 pound chuck roast
6 ounces sthick-cut bacon, cut into 1" x 1 1/2" rectangles

2 cups dry red wine
low-salt chicken broth, divided
1 large onions, thinly sliced
4 small shallots, peeled
12 garlic cloves, peeled (see notes)
3 bay leaves
4 large carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 medium parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
12-16 fingerling potatoes

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon duck fat

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 300°F.

2) Rub the beef with the fist five ingredients.

3) Cook bacon in Le Creuset over medium heat until browned and lightly crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pot. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef and cook until browned on all sides. Transfer beef to plate.

4) Deglaze Le Creuset with red wine.

5) Add bacon to the pot and place beef on top. Scatter onions, shallots, garlic, and bay leaves around beef, then add broth to mostly fill Le Creuset.

6) Cover pot with foil, add lid, transfer to oven, braise for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

7) About 2 hours 45 minutes in, add remaining broth to a pot with water, salt, pepper and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes, carrots and parsnips. Cook until done.

8) Strain vegetables and place in bowl. Gently toss with duck fat, olive oil, butter and season with a bit of paprika, salt and pepper.

9) When the beef is done, let rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve on a bed of vegetables with the braising liquid ladled on top.

Notes

A flavorful option would be to roast a garlic bulb, then use the cloves that you squeeze out.